Development of Texas A&M AgriLife Specialty Tomatoes

Texas A&M AgriLife tomato breeding program at Weslaco is developing tomato cultivars with high yield, disease resistance and improved fruit quality adapted to Texas growing conditions. As part of our efforts, we have developed several specialty-type Cherry and Cocktail F1 hybrid tomatoes with great flavor and appeal. Cherry and Cocktail type tomatoes are characterized by their desirable color and flavor, and used in several specialty dishes, snacks, and salads. The Texas A&M specialty F1 hybrids have excellent yields and resistance to pest and diseases, therefore they can be produced under open field conditions for either commercial or gardening purposes in Texas. Currently, Texas A&M AgriLife specialty-type F1 hybrids are being evaluated at multiple Texas locations to gather data for cultivar registration and release. In addition, as part of our continuous efforts to improve quality characteristics in tomato, we are mapping segregating populations from our F1 hybrids to identify molecular markers linked to quality trait genes for further cultivar improvement efforts. This will help us to continue our cultivar development efforts by allowing us to introgress more efficiently quality traits such as sugar, acidity, and carotenoid content into new cultivars currently in development.